British Virgin Islands (Day 2)
We were scheduled to be on a bareboat sailing charter starting on a Sunday so we decided to get in late on Friday to give us some cushion in case of travel and flight hiccups. As a result we had all day Saturday to wander about town. Ran some errands like buying a SIM card which I found out later that I really didn’t need since the boat apparently had wifi.
Started the day at Island Roots Coffee. Excellent shop housed in the former Customs House and is attached to a book shop.
FYI - Currency here is the USD but there is a foreign transaction fee for your credit card if you don’t have a travel credit card.
Scars are still very evident from the 2017 hurricanes around the BVI’s. A lot of resort structures are brand new since the old ones were completely wiped away. You can still see a lot of reconstruction going on and wrecked boats are still littered around the islands. You can see this flagpole still bent from the storm.
Wandered over to the Government House since we had the time. The one with the blue roof is the actual current functioning one. The one above it is the old one and the museum which you can tour for a nominal fee. They were not busy so this wonderful woman (Nilsa) working there gave us a guided tour explaining the colonial history and traditions.
It was interesting to chat with a local as she also was able to give us a first hand account of how terrifying it was during the 2017 hurricanes and the difficult rebuilding afterwards. She said it took about 6 months to get basic necessities and about 2 years for a sense of normalcy.
She recalled that one of the worst things was dealing with the mosquito swarms after the storm as they were rampant and no one had windows to be able to hide from them.
Strolling back to the marina, we stopped at a place called Bamboushay for lunch. I think it gets lively at night but was quiet for lunch. Good food and super friendly service. Behind the restaurant is a shop selling local ceramics and art.
Another thing to note in the islands here is that your opening and closing times on Google are not always accurate for businesses here so always be a bit flexible.
They drive American style cars here but drive on the British side of the road. You have to remember to look in the proper direction of traffic when crossing the street.
Stopped by the cruise ship area which was dead as the next ship was not scheduled to dock for another week. Most stores were closed in that area since why bother if there are no cruise ship customers. It’s not like the locals would hang out there.
Hit the Aroma Cigar Bar again for some daytime drinks. The place is chill, has a great view, and most importantly - open for day drinking.
Photo of the harbor above where about 1/3 of it is a graveyard for wrecks. You can see the masts of the sunken sailboats sticking out of the water.
For dinner we took a cab to the West End side of the island where we met up with some of the other people that we were going to sail with. The other folks stayed at the Sugar Mill Resort which was a lot swankier than where we were holing up.
The place has also been completely rebuilt since the hurricane. They have a book readily available at the bar that shows all the before and after photos since everyone asks.